Pierre Frick

Domaine Pierre Frick is an iconic Alsatian wine estate. Jean Pierre, his wife Chantal and their son Thomas tend 12 hectares of vines in the Pfaffenheim area, near Colmar.

Jean-Pierre Frick is the pioneer of biodynamic viticulture in Alsace and a lifelong environmental activist. Indeed, it was in 1970 that he decided to convert to this practice, a little crazy at the time, which consists of working his terroir according to the lunar cycle, as well as carrying out natural treatments with plant infusions. At the time, he was considered a dangerous outsider, but today many winemakers come to him for advice. Just goes to show, yesterday's madman can become tomorrow's genius.

When it comes to working the vines, the entire Frick family is in the same spirit of respect, authenticity and excellence. They work their vines without any chemical inputs, pesticides or synthetic products. Their terroirs are predominantly limestone, resulting in fresh, well-crafted wines with great ageing potential.

In the cellar, Jean-Pierre Frick is thoughtful, not wishing to market wines he describes as "unstable", and therefore gives himself the freedom to sulfite his wines very lightly on a case-by-case basis. The aim is, of course, to add no sulfur at all, but sometimes nature doesn't give you the chance.

In addition to being fervent defenders of their terroirs and respect for the living world, the Frick family is a family of innovators. Indeed, it was in 1999 that they decided to take the plunge and stop using corks. Today, all their wines are corked with capsules found on beer cans. It's a clever solution that works remarkably well. The Frick family regularly experiment with opening the same 1999 vintage wine in both cork and capsule, and the results are unmistakable. With the capsule, the wine retains incredible freshness, evolving without the corky aroma that inevitably degrades over time...

The cuvées from the Pierre Frick wine estate that we hold dear are: the unique Sylvaner Bergweingarten, which Jean Pierre Frick systematically tastes blind so as not to condition people to the fact that it's a Sylvaner, a grape variety much maligned by many wine lovers. The magnificent Riesling Grand Cru Vorbourg, one of the few Alsace grands crus, is ideal for drinking within the first 3 years, and is uniquely fresh and delicious. Then there's the incredible Pinot Noir, whether Strangenberg, one of Alsace's greatest Pinot Noirs for ageing, or Rot Murlé, a rustic, spicy Pinot Noir.

As you'll have gathered, this wine estate is one of our favorite in the world of natural winemakers. For us, it's one of the examples to follow in the evolution of viticulture in France.